Chapter 36 Brewing Storm
"What in the world!?" Grandpa Tang said in shock. He'd just gone back to Red Apple Village when all of a sudden the village went up in flames. But that wasn't what shocked Grandpa Tang, rather the perpetrators.
'Why are those disciples attacking us!? And who are those cloaked people with the Village Chief?' He couldn't wrap his head around it, but he soon quelled his thoughts. Time was of the essence, he needed to find Tang Yifei and Chen Zemin.
Rushing to his hut as fast as he could, he opened the door, but there was no one inside. The old man sighed when he saw this, they had snuck out again. 'These kids always making me run around.....I just hope they're okay.' Grandpa Tang thought as he attempted to run out of the village.
Unfortunately due to the sheer destruction around him it was quite hard to leave the village. But he still couldn't understand what was going on. 'Don't tell me they decided to work with the bandits!?' He concluded his face paling.
If that was the case the entire Red Apple Village would be destroyed. 'I have to escape with the kids.' With that thought the old man raced towards the outer edge of the village as fast as his old bones would take him.
---
"Red Apple Village. We should be there soon." Mo Xiaowen muttered under his breath. It was much farther than he had originally conceived, but the trip was quite smooth despite its length.
Naturally Old Ox was asleep as per usual, and Black Flash simply ran along the forest path. "Sniff! Sniff! There's a fire." Old Ox mumbled as he woke up. Hearing this Mo Xiaowen immediately slowed down Black Flash.
Old Ox's nose had been warning them a lot lately. "What's the plan then, I trust your judgement." Mo Xiaowen replied as he attempted to smell the fire. After trying for a bit he could smell it somewhat.
"You stay here, you and Black Flash are capable enough of protecting yourselves, I'll go in." Old Ox proposed before jumping off the horse and heading down the path axe in hand.
---
"We need to find Grandpa Tang!" Tang Yifei said, somewhat distraught. "Lets go to the orchard he should be there!" She continued trying to pull Chen Zemin away.
"No, he won't be at the orchard, he probably already tried to look for us at the hut or is going to. Its better if we stay in the forest here." Chen Zemin decided before pulling Tang Yifei with him a bit deeper into the forest.
They were just far enough in were they had a good amount of cover but could also see anyone leaving or entering the village. A few minutes later, the two saw a hulking man with a large axe enter the village.
His eyes gazed at the village briefly, before he lifted his axe and toppled a large chunk of the wooden wall with one swing of his mighty axe.
"BOOM!"
Seeing this their faces paled. 'Is he in the Qi Gathering Realm? But isn't he a disciple of the Demonic Cliff Sect why is he attacking us?!' Chen Zemin was in disbelief as he witnessed the scene.
---
Due to the disturbance caused by the large man, Grandpa Tang finally found a chance to escape. The large man had toppled a big chunk of the wall and the majority of eyes were placed on him making it the perfect chance.
Grandpa Tang ran, faster and faster, faster than he had ever run before. And finally a few minutes later he luckily made it out of the village. 'Hopefully I can find them, come on Chen Zemin I am sure you stayed around here!' He thought in hope as he headed towards the forest.
Right behind him Grandpa Tang could see a rain of arrows hurtling towards the large man, but he didn't make any attempt to dodge. "What is that guy doing." Grandpa Tang muttered in shock. Cultivators still amazed him every time he saw them.
As the arrows approached him, the large man swung his axe once again. An air pressure so powerful it could knock down trees shot out, deflecting the arrows off course at high speeds.
"Puchi!"
"Puchi!"
"Puchi!"
The old man felt an odd sensation, before looking down at his body. There were now 3 bloody holes there, and he could feel a salty taste in his mouth. '....This is the end.' He thought before falling on the ground, with the last bit of life in him he looked towards the forest.
And it seemed in his final moments, the heavens smiled on him. The old man could see Tang Yifei and Chen Zemin completely unharmed. Making eye contact with Chen Zemin, he could see the brat shedding a tear as he mouthed something.
'I am sure you will protect her, its too bad I couldn't be there for the wedding...' With that final thought Grandpa Tang's consciousness drifted off into the abyss a smile plastered on his face. He believed in Chen Zemin.
---
"GRANDPA!" Tang Yifei cried out trying to rush towards the old man's corpse, but she couldn't escape Chen Zemin's grasp. "Let me go!" She roared trying to loosen his grip.
"I promised Grandpa I'd protect you." That was the only thing Chen Zemin said before dragging Tang Yifei away. It wasn't time to argue, if they delayed any longer they could die. Unfortunately Tang Yifei was too emotional at the moment.
---
In the heavens above, the clouds rumbled and a storm seemed to be brewing. 'A storm now? Doesn't seem like the right time of year.' Mo Xiaowen noted as he gazed towards the sky.
Old Ox had left maybe a few minutes ago at this point, leaving Mo Xiaowen to his own devices. It was quite boring to say the least. 'Maybe I should head in....actually I rather not.' He debated with himself for some time before concluding to stay put.
"Rustle. Rustle."
Nearby Mo Xiaowen could hear bushed rustle as two people appeared in front of him. "Chen Zemin?" He said in surprise, locking eyes with the boy some distance away.
"Mo Xiaowen!? What are you doing here?!" Chen Zemin asked warily putting himself in front of Tang Yifei.
"That's not important rather why are you here? Shouldn't you be in the Chen Clan? Regardless you better leave. This isn't a place where you can get involved." Mo Xiaowen replied matter of factly.
Hearing this Chen Zemin wasn't exactly pleased, but he clenched his teeth and moved to get away. "Don't be mean to Big Brother Zemin, who do you think you are?!" Tang Yifei scolded Mo Xiaowen, causing the boy to sit there confused.
Thunder rumbled, the storm seemingly about to begin.
"I am not being mean I am simply stating the truth, its one thing to have bad talent, another to simply give up." Mo Xiaowen replied, shaking his head in dismay. In his opinion Chen Zemin was never trash, until he gave up.
"Mo Xiaowen! Don't act like you understand what I've been through! Just fuck off!" Chen Zemin's emotions were running high, and the few comments from Mo Xiaowen had set him off.
He charged towards Mo Xiaowen loosing a punch on him. But it wasn't anything special, dismounting Black Flash, Mo Xiaowen blocked the attack wit ha single finger. "About 4th Stage? Even the worst of the batch has reached the 5th Stage by now." He remarked before pushing Chen Zemin back lightly.
Tumbling backwards Chen Zemin looked at Mo Xiaowen enraged. Why was it that every time he met this person he was trying to provoke him?
On the other hand Mo Xiaowen was confused. 'Why isn't he leaving? Does he think he can fight me? Or fight here? Every time I meet him he takes my every action the wrong way.' He sighed.
"MO! XIAO! WEN!" Chen Zemin roared but before he could make another move, lightning descended from the heavens.